My name is David McDonnell. I'm a descendant of an old Irish clan that has been around for a few thousand years. They were with the Belgae Celts who fought in the continent of Europe against Julius Caesar.

They were the Erainn who migrated into Ireland, and the island became known as the land of the Erainn, or Eire Land, in English Ireland. They were part of an Erainn ethnic group known Ulaid, who migrated into the northern end of Ireland - the Vikings named this region Ulster for the Ulaid.

The clan settled on both sides of the North Channel, in Scotland and Ireland, and in the Hebrides Islands in between. The intermingled and intermarried with the Vikings who settled in the same region.

I've assembled many, many storied of this clan, and put them into my book, entitled ClanDonnell. They are true stories, which collectively tell the story or history of Ireland. I'm now on a national book and story-telling tour, telling these true stories of Ireland. I've told stories at Celtic festivals, Irish pubs, book stores, and public libraries. Please come and see me during the festival and we can talk about the book and about Celtic history, and I'd love it if you shared your Scottish or Irish story with me.

Some of these sessions on my book tour have been quite serious and historical in focus. I've found people eager to learn about the history of Ireland and the land of their ancestors.

Some of these sessions have been a bit more fanciful. I enjoy weaving a tale, and these sessions have been quite popular in Irish pubs, when I have a microphone and the audience has a pint of Guinness.

The organizers of this festival were kind enough to invite me here, and I asked, what do you want me to do? They told me to make this session entirely educational. They didn't want me to tell any fanciful stories or repeat undocumented legends or folklore. My job at this stage is to tell you true stories of Ireland.

So that is what I'm going to do. True stories only.

I'm going to tell you about leprechauns.

You all know about leprechauns. Some people think they are a lot like Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Ever see TV show, Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet? The show follows four researchers in their quest to find Sasquatch. All four are experts in the field.

One is named Matt Moneymaker, an appropriate name. His expertise is that he is the founder of Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. He started the organization, so that makes him an expert. I actually admire the guy. I'm sure he was sitting in his living room one day and decided: "I'm going to find Bigfoot." But instead of just chasing Bigfoot, he formed the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and landed a TV contract to finance his search. I wish I had thought of that.